Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus was a carnivorous dinosaur that lived in Africa during the Cretaceous Period. The most notable feature of Spinosaurus was the sail on its back, vaguely similar to the spines on ''Dimetrodon''. Spinosaurus is believed to have been a powerful hunter, from evidence of related species, which show how spinosaurids and its relatives were able to hunt small dinosaurs, and catch large fish. It is the largest land/semi-aquatic carnivore that ever walked the earth. Discovery In 1912, a German paleontological expedition led by Ernst Stromer discovered the remains of several new Late Cretaceous dinosaurs in Egypt. Spinosaurus, a large theropod, was one of the new dinosaurs. However, in World War II, the first Spinosaurus skeleton was destroyed by allied bombers. General Description Spinosaurus ''is believed to have grown to 17 meters (56 feet) long. It got its name, which means "spine lizard," because of the tall spines on its vertebrae (bones of the spine), some reaching a height of six feet! They formed a sail along the animal's back, though not like those of the Permian mammal-like reptile ''Dimetrodon. The sail may have been a thermal regulator, releasing heat on hot days and absorbing heat on colder days. It also may have been used as a display to attract members of its own species and intimidate other species. Spinosaurus was believed to grow one 56 feet (17 m) long, 16-22 feet (5-6 m) tall, was 7-11 tons (14,000-22,000 lbs), had 6-foot (1.8 m) spines, 5-foot (1.5-meter) arms, and had a 4-6 foot (1.2-1.8 m) skull, meaning Spinosaurus could be the largest carnivorous dinosaur that ever lived. Even though the skeleton is incomplete, Spinosaurus shows several other interesting features. It was the largest theropod ever. The teeth are different from other theropod teeth because they were conical, and the serrations (the cutting ridges along the sides) were very small. These tooth features, along with the shape of the skull bones, show that Spinosaurus is similar to Baryonyx. They are both part of the group spinosauridae, but Spinosaurus belongs to a sub-group known as spinosauridae, while Baryonyx belongs to a separate group known as baryonychidae, which have different features among their members. Spinosaurus is believed to have eaten fish, but there has been controversy about a dinosaur of that size relying on just fish, no m'' atter how big they were. It is more likely that it preyed upon large or small land animals and fish. The original skeleton of this theropod was destroyed during the course of World War II. However, a piece of a skull bone belonging to another ''Spinosaurus ''that was found on a shelf in a German museum. It is most likely that another expedition to Egypt would uncover more skeletons so that more can be learned about ''Spinosaurus. It also lived with sauropods like Paralititan, other large carnivores like Carcharodontosaurus, and large crocodiles like Sarcosuchus. In the media Spinosaurus had taken a huge role in Jurassic Park ///, the only Jurassic Park film not based on a Michael Crichton book. An adult Spinosaurus was seen fighting a sub adult Tyrannosaurus Rex, though this fight could not have occured in the specified time period as the two dinosaurs lived during different times of the Cretaceous Period. During the battle, the Spinosaurus locks it jaws onto the neck of the Tyrannosaurus then uses its longer arms to dislocate the neck causing the Tyrannosaurus to die, but actually, if this fight had taken place between these two dinosaurs, even a sub-adult Tyrannosaurus should have won, it's powerful jaws should have crushed the neck of the Spinosaurus at the beginning of the fight, and although the Spinosaurus' arms were longer, there were not as mobile as other theropods, and were built to lift fish instead of large prey animals. The Jurassic Park Spinosaurus is also inaccurate because it did't have a crest between the eyes, and the skull bears a ressemblance to another related dinosaur, Suchomimus. Ever since Jurassic Park 3 was released, Spinosaurus has become a very popular dinosaur in pop culture. Spinosaurus also appears in the video games Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, Zoo Tycoon, Carnivores 2, and many more. It is also popular as a player made animal in "Zoo Tycoon 2". Spinosaurus appears in series 4 of Primeval and is shown living in the same place as a raptor. Another one appears in Series 5. Spinosaurus is also in Monsters Ressurected inaccurately portrayed as the top predator, as it was shown to lift and hold a 30 ft long Rugops, rip apart the face of a Sarcosuchus ''and simply smash the skull of ''Carcharodontosaurus ''of only one single blow from its,15 inch (38 cm), claws. In this documentary it was also oversized. A skull of ''Suchomimus was used for Spinosaurus's head. Spinosaurus ''appears in ''Bizarre Dinosaurs which its sail's use is talked about. Spinosaurus ''appears in the Japanese animated film ''Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006, where it is the abused pet of an evil time-travelling dinosaur poacher. Also, near the climax, Spinosaurus faces off with Tyrannosaurus once again, only this time losing. Spinosaurus appears in the first episode of Planet Dinosaur as a first hunter and shown to hunt land animals if there is no aquatic animals to eat, and competes against a Carcharodontosaurus for an Ouranosaurus carcass and triumphs, but later dies from the infections of the Carcharodontosaurus's bite, it's probable that the Carcharodontosaurus survived to his wounds. A Spinosaurus also appears a The Land Before Time where it chases the main characters. The dinosaur was shown inaccurately with two fingers. Mr10.jpg Mr2.png Spino.jpg Spinono.png MR Spinosaurus.jpg Primeval spinosaurus.jpg Spinosaurus-dinosaurs-23744497-1200-840.jpg Spinosaurus-DJ91.jpg Spinosaurus-tinbuti.jpg Spinosaurus.jpg Spinosaurus11.jpg Spinosaurus2.jpg Spinosaurus 600.jpg Spinosaurus BW.jpg Spinosaurus in a lake.jpg Spinosaurus tm.gif Subadult Spinosaurus.jpg Tyrannosaurus vs Spinosaurus.jpg asas.png gf.png gfd.jpg imagesCA2JYLIA.jpg imagesCA8YG490.jpg imagesCA62FY80.jpg imagesCA926DTJ.jpg imagesCABXZ5QV.jpg imagesCADZFQEK.jpg imagesCAFJ32RP.jpg imagesCAVTJ8E3.jpg jhghffr.jpg jyu.jpg lhd.jpg tfrsd.png Category:Dinosaurs Category:Carnivores Category:Spinosaurids Category:Early Cretaceous dinosaurs Category:Large Carnivores Category:Dinosaurs of Africa Category:Theropods Category:Primeval Category:Spinosaurdae Category:Zoo Tycoon Dinosaur Digs Creatures Category:Apex predators Category:Jurassic Park (film) characters Category:Jurassic Park III characters Category:Archosaurs Category:Saurischia Category:Cretaceous Dinosaurs Category:Cretaceous Period Category:Cretaceous animals Category:Aquatic Creatures